The town was settled around 1797 by families from Scotland. In 1803, the town was incorporated into New York as "Southampton". The name later changed to "Caledonia". The village of Caledonia was incorporated in 1891. The village forms many associations with the adjacent hamlet of Mumford, even though they are in different counties. Wheatland was formed as the town of Inverness from the town of Caledonia in 1821. Inverness' name later changed to "Wheatland", as the town did not share the Scottish ancestry of Caledonia. The fish hatchery at the north end of Caledonia village was built by Seth Green and is the oldest in the United States. The Caledonia Fish Hatchery, Caledonia House Hotel and Clark-Keith House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
At the 2000 census, there were 2,327 people, 902 households and 645 families residing in the village. The population density was. There were 939 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup was 93.47% White, 3.95% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.69% Asian, 0.26% from other races, and 1.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.95% of the population. There were 902 households of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couplesliving together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.06. 27.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males. The median household income was $44,309 and the median family income was $50,526. Males had a median income of $38,587 and females $27,917. The per capita income was $19,753. About 4.4% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 1.2% of those age 65 or over.
Community amenities
Caledonia's high school is Caledonia-Mumford Central School. The school's athletic teams are known as the Raiders. Among the stores, restaurants, and public amenities are The MarketPlace Grocery, C.S. Barber, Pizza Land, Daffies Pizza, Seth Graham Design, The Cozy Kitchen, Dollar General, Milex Drugs, Raider Lanes, Gigglin' Pig, Caledonia Library, Iroquois Hotel, and The Village Inn. The Caledonia Fire Department was established in 1887, existing until recently as both a Rural Fire Commission and a Village Fire Department. Currently, the Caledonia Fire District is the elected body which provides oversight and for financial needs of the emergency operations. The Fire Department provides manpower for the Fire District and holds social events and fund raisers for the benefit of the membership. Ambulance services are provided by Genesee Valley Emergency Medical Services providing two ambulances and one advanced life support fly car. These services are available for both the village and town residents and reside within the Caledonia Fire District fire hall.
